French organ façades (1691-1750) 1

The cathedral of Auch houses one of the finest organ cases in France, made for the organ built by Jean de Joyeuse. The organ stands on a gallery designed and constructed in 1689 by three architects: Barthélemy Duran, his son Pierre, and Barthélemy Biamouret. The contract for the construction of the organ was signed with Jean de Joyeuse on 29 January 1690 for the sum of 16,000 livres. The commission arose from a testamentary bequest made in 1684 by Henri de La Motte-Houdancourt, Archbishop of Auch, who had donated 10,000 livres towards the construction of an organ in the cathedral – already renowned at the time for its choir stalls and stained-glass windows. The entire work was completed in 1694.